Chapter 451: Martial Immortal's Supreme Secret Slays the Six Desires Corpse God, Golden Cicada Manifests, the Monk Equal to Heaven Aw

Terrifying explosions boomed within Ink City, countless air currents tearing the air, as if space itself were being sliced apart!

Fierce purple-flame kirin trampled the void, merging into a fist imprint, fierce and unmatched!

Kirin Void-Suppressing Seal!

Immortal Seed Martial Arts surpasses Divine Seed Martial Arts; its cultivation is so arduous that even a common Martial Saint who obtains the method would likely waste half a lifetime and still fail to enter.

Even after gaining entry, attaining minor completion and squandering the rest of one's life is still difficult.

But Li Che's true killing move is not this Kirin Void-Suppressing Seal!

Instead, it is the blade that follows closely, forged by merging the disaster power Primordial Void-Slash Rage with the Divine Seed Martial Arts Thousand Mountain Lone Walk Divine Blade from the Mysterious Gate Divine Seed, resulting in the Thousand Mountain Lone Walk Void-Slash Blade!

This blade is Li Che's true killing move!

It is also how Li Che cuts away the gloom over his head, rips the firmament, lets sunlight pour down, bathes himself, and gains light.

This blade slays the heart-devil!

Ji Moli can indeed be called a heart-devil in Li Che's mind; when Ji Haihui appeared at Golden Light Prefecture accompanied by a Grand Master to pay respects, it brought immense pressure to the Golden Light Branch Sect and likewise great pressure on Li Che.

Li Che then knew that someday he would face Ji Moli behind Ji Haihui; indeed, during the Temple God Resonance at the Guiyi Miao of the Third Prince of Golden Light Prefecture...

After killing Ji Haihui in the Temple God Resonance, Li Che then faced the Martial Saint will of Ji Moli, drawn out from Ji Haihui's bloodline.

Only that confrontation truly let Li Che feel Ji Moli's strength, giving rise to the heart-devil in his mind.

Mainly, the pressure Ji Moli exerted then was too great; merely a weak bloodline force transformed into a martial will almost overwhelmed Li Che, nearly crushing him completely.

Boom——!!!

A sharp blade light flashed forth!

The triple-point double-edged blade burst forth with dazzling light; the blade's speed was so fast it seemed to slash against the wind, slicing space and causing it to explode!

In an instant, it landed upon Ji Moli's body.

Thousand Mountain Lone Walk, Void-Slash Divine Blade!

As if crossing thousands of mountains and rivers in a flick, it was invincible in all directions!

Everything seemed to vanish from Ji Moli's perception—blade light gone, Six Desires gone, divinity retreated, no light remained!

The instant the blade light tore and sliced.

In Ji Moli's eyes, everything was annihilated, violently blasted away!

Such a blade……

Such a blade!

Truly the pinnacle of blade art martial study!

Boom——!!!

All myriad charms and myriad colors receded, leaving only terrifying blade-qi ripples like concentric circles, striking the neither-human-nor-ghost Ji Moli's body.

Ji Moli's proud defense, under this blade, became as ragged as tatters!

Within Ink City, nearly all air waves were emptied, violently striking the city walls, raising ripples that hung upside down in rolling waves!

Pfft——!

"Ah——!!!"

As the blade light struck his body, Ji Moli finally felt a sensation that made his soul instinctively tremble with fear, the will influenced by Blood Soul, Heavenly King Temple God, and Six Desires Corpse God, as if at last returning to normal!

After his five senses were cut by the blade, they finally returned.

Continuous shattering sounds echoed in his ears—his powerful martial arts flesh, tendons, and bones being severed, his top-tier martial arts exterior training being torn apart and exploding with roaring noise!

Pfft——!!!

The icy blade cut through tough flesh and blood; space was violently sliced and exploded, countless turbulent currents like branching tree limbs wildly raging!

Ji Moli's hairs stood on end all over, his soul constantly sounding alarms.

"Li Che!!!"

Ji Moli's flesh was blasted apart, the six Corpse God's Eyes on his body all streaming fresh blood.

The three Temple Gods originally fused within his body, upon Li Che's summoning gesture, fell into chaos and directly departed his flesh, causing Ji Moli's proud state to plummet rapidly.

And then Li Che's killing intent, concealing a hidden scheme within, caught him off guard!

The space around Ji Moli seemed to instantly turn into fine powder!

Ji Moli's six magatama-spinning eyes stared fixedly at Li Che.

"How could it be you!"

Underworld Yama King……

It was actually Li Che!

Horse Face was also Li Che……

So, the Underworld…… whose Underworld is it after all?!

At this moment, Ji Moli felt somewhat bewildered, doubtful, unwilling to die in peace, and questioning life.

"You should go on your way."

A faint voice came from Li Che's mouth as he swept the half-moon arc slash.

The triple-point double-edged blade swept out a perfect crescent!

"You deserve to die; to kill you I have prepared much, and for this day I have continually strived to grow."

Li Che's face filled with calm, his pointed blade sweeping over ruthlessly!

Crack!

Bones blasted apart, meridians snapping inch by inch!

Blood, flesh, and bone scattered flying!

Countless black blood exploded behind Ji Moli!

The will of the Six Desire Corpse Gods on Ji Moli's body simultaneously let out an extremely furious roar, but it was useless; even though these six had reached the Corpse God power of the One Disaster One Calamity realm, they could not help Ji Moli much.

Or rather, it was never Ji Moli's power to begin with; even if fused together, to Li Che the threat was not great, and it wasn't even as great as the pressure the Old Dragon God initially gave him.

Because the Old Dragon God's cultivation at the One Disaster Two Calamities level was genuine, it came from his own training.

And Ji Moli purely relied on cheating.

Whether it's the power of the Three Heavenly Kings Temple Gods or the power of the Six Corpse Gods, it all belongs to Ji Moli's borrowed power.

Borrowed power ultimately cannot perfectly fit.

And Li Che is the kind of person who can destroy borrowed temple god power.

With a single hand summoning gods, he directly tore apart the cheat Ji Moli had attached, smashing it to pieces!

Power rapidly flowed away and dissipated within Ji Moli's body.

Ji Moli's eyes became clear; at this moment he let out a long sigh: "I was wrong..."

"My biggest mistake was not, when Hai would be killed by you at the Third Prince's Guiyi Miao deity resonance grand assembly, immediately acting to eliminate you, allowing you to rise, to grow, to become a formidable force..."

"That day, I made the worst decision of my life."

"I have been correct all my life, but that time I was indeed wrong."

Ji Moli's face was full of regret.

He looked at Li Che.

"What underworld... there's only one person, you, Li Che... you alone are the underworld, right?"

"The Ox Demon is you, the Horse Face is you, the Divine Monkey is you, the King of Hell is you..."

Ji Moli guessed something.

Perhaps, upon seeing the face beneath the underworld King of Hell's mask, which was Li Che's, Ji Moli had already guessed.

But what does it matter even if he guessed?

In fact, Li Che now has the strength to protect himself in this world.

To kill him, unless it's a Second Disaster or Third Disaster level Divine Tribulation grandmaster taking action, otherwise even if a One Disaster Three Calamities realm expert acts, Li Che fears nothing and is confident he can easily escape.

Because he has the Lightning Transposition of the 【Chess Saint】 Dao Fruit, and the Ink City Fengdu of the 【Painting Immortal】 Dao Fruit!

Li Che's face was entirely calm.

He deliberately revealed his face to Ji Moli, to cause his emotions to fluctuate greatly; once the fluctuation became intense, a mistake would occur, and what Li Che had to do was seize that mistake and in one strike kill the opponent, slash through the darkness!

Boom—

After Ji Moli was struck by a blade, he no longer had any strength to resist.

And Li Che wielded the three-pronged two-edged blade, his dark robe flying, making a hunting sound; the blade light raged in all directions, the azure streams of light constantly intertwining, like a single thread of wind, yet seeming like myriad threads of wind!

Thousand Mountains Lone Walk Void-Slashing Blade!

At this moment, the 【Dragon Elephant Diamond】 Dao Fruit in Li Che's chest seemed to swell and jump in extreme frenzy, with thumping sounds sending out endless ripples.

Li Che's insight into the martial way, at this moment, seemed to achieve a supreme sublimation.

I don't know whether it's because he finally completed the years of cleaving the mountains that had obscured his mind, or because he tore apart the sky-filling heart-devils' dark clouds!

Li Che's insight into the Thousand Mountains Lone Walk Void-Slashing Blade at this moment actually showed signs of rapidly climbing!

Slash!

Slash!

Slash!!!

Li Che's eyes seemed to fall into a supreme state of empty clarity, his qi and blood frenzily surging forth, his golden qi and blood like great waves lashing, a myriad-zhang golden pool of the qi sea, a myriad-zhang lofty martial arts mountain vista, unattainable, appearing.

The speed of his blade strikes kept increasing!

Even...

So fast that merely waving the blade by its speed alone could shatter space!

Vaguely, it seemed as if he had truly grasped the essence of the Void-Slashing Blade!

In Li Che's understanding, divine-level martial arts are still linked to true intent, but upon reaching immortal-level martial arts, such as the Qilin Seal of Void, it already involves a higher level of insight unique to the essence level.

And at this moment, he comprehended the essence of the Void-Slashing Blade!

Pfft-pfft-pfft—

After Ji Moli was struck by a blade, his speed could no longer keep up.

He only felt as if before his eyes there was an endless roaring storm raging and sweeping, like the mythic deity who controls storms, sweeping forth terrifying waves!

Ji Moli gave up.

Being struck down by countless blade lights upon his body, as if... thousand cuts, myriad slashes!

His consciousness was completely obliterated!

He completely vanished between heaven and earth!

And the six Corpse Gods burst forth from his body, transforming into six utterly twisted Corpse Gods, within whose bodies countless blood souls roared and twisted, having devoured how many souls and slain how many spirits.

Without a doubt, these people's blood souls and spirits were all fed by Ji Moli to the Corpse God Sect over these years.

Precisely because of Ji Moli's help, the Corpse God Sect's Corpse Gods were able to grow to their present height.

Li Che's gaze was icy cold, with golden smoke swirling around.

The three-pronged two-edged blade trembled, bursting forth with an extremely splendid blade chant!

Slash!

Slash again!

Six Desire Corpse Gods?

Before his eyes, they were all flying ash!

Slash them to flying ash!

Boom——!!!

The Six Venerable Corpse Gods were also in the howling, being blasted apart alive by Li Che's terrifying Thousand Mountain Lone Walk Slash Void Blade Technique!

Boom—rumble——!!!

A terrifying cyan storm, centered on the position where Ji Mo Li was, exploded outward toward the land of Ink City behind him, like a vicious shockwave crushing over, Ink City behind Ji Mo Li presented a fan-shaped collapse, countless Ink City buildings were blown into extremely fine sand and dust……

The terrifying blade qi raged and intertwined, the outward-pushing airflow transformed into a howling, roaring gale, blowing away the dust that filled the entire city!

Dead silence, utter dead silence.

The entire Ink City seemed to have become a vacuum zone.

After about two breaths.

Gush—gush—gush—gush—gush—gush——

The shattered buildings of Ink City, the torn ground, finally drew the attention of the Ink Rain; the clattering torrential downpour, furiously roaring, swiftly fell upon the human world, washing and cleansing the entire city.

Li Che stood rooted in place, his jet-black, vigorous hair wildly flailing.

His chest heaved violently, the majestic golden qi and blood completely enveloping his entire person.

Upon his face, the black-and-white divided Yama King mask was restored, and his entire aura became mysterious and profound.

Shattering the Yama King mask was originally meant to disturb Ji Mo Li's mind and spirit; it belonged to a battle strategy, a somewhat dirty tactic.

Now that the tactic succeeded, Li Che naturally put the mask back on.

On the ground, Ji Mo Li's corpse had long been reduced to nothing but fine dust like sand.

The Six Venerable Six Desires Corpse Gods were also blasted apart by Li Che, their ugly, twisted bodies turning into bloodstains covering the ground.

And above the Six Desires Corpse Gods, six seals appeared—those were… Corpse God Seals!

There were six in total, spinning round and round, releasing an immense and pure Six Desires divinity; faintly, even Buddha light intertwined among the six seals.

Li Che's gaze fell upon the six Corpse God Seals, and he slowly narrowed his eyes.

He spread his five fingers, his five fingers seeming to turn into divine spears, reaching for the Corpse God Seals.

These Corpse God Seals…… contained the aura of the Heretical Buddha.

Hum——

A cold, stern Buddha light suddenly erupted, like a poisonous snake swiftly winding around Li Che's palm.

However, Li Che's grabbing motion suddenly switched, becoming an overbearingly powerful fist smashing down; the air wave roared, and the six seals were instantly knocked flying sideways.

Hummmm——

The six Corpse God Seals projected light, slowly, the illumination intertwined into a monk's silhouette.

Illusory and blurry, yet those eyes seemed to transcend time and space, gazing at Li Che; they saw the Yama King mask on Li Che's face, as if Buddha light wanted to shine through, seeing through the mask to his true visage.

But the Heaven and Earth Chessboard enveloped him, causing Li Che's aura to gradually become mysterious.

Those eyes actually could not see through Li Che's aura.

But within Li Che's right arm, a faint vibration burst forth, followed by a resonant clang that echoed without cease, as if the ancient temple bell atop a snow‑capped mountain, struck when facing a plummeting avalanche, had been rung.

The Follow Heart Gold Iron Divine Staff actually seemed to sense some mysterious aura, becoming tremendously vibratory.

The monk's robe burned like fire, fluttering wildly; under the illumination of the six Corpse God Seals, it seemed like a mass of flowing flame burning without cease.

"Amitabha..."

"Ji Mo Li is dead."

"What a pity..."

It seemed a tone of compassion spread, as if countless ancient Buddhas were chanting in unison, their voices echoing without end.

Li Che's gaze swept over that hypocritical monk's illusory apparition.

Where could one hear even a hint of that pity? The pity… was that without Ji Mo Li, there would be no one left to slaughter cities and gather blood souls, right?

"You are the bald donkey who bewitched Ji Mo Li into slaughtering cities and killing!"

Beneath the Yama King mask of the Underworld, a hoarse voice rose up.

Li Che's eyes, seen through the mask, were icy and stern.

This bald donkey might very well be the true mastermind behind the Corpse God Sect!

Ji Mo Li was merely cooperating with the Corpse God Sect.

The monk's face was blurry, only his eyes were distinct; faintly, the firelight kept gathering, slowly forming divine patterns.

"It's not that I, the poor monk, bewitched him; it's merely that Ji Mo Li harbored ambition and aspiration, so he followed his true heart."

"I, the poor monk, only taught him the Dharma, instructed him in the way to rise; Ji Mo Li's first half of life was too bitter…"

"He wanted to rise, he wanted to stand at the pinnacle, he wanted to overturn the dynasty; he had ambition, I, the poor monk, admired him, and thus fulfilled him."

The monk's tone remained compassionate.

Suddenly.

The monk's gaze fell upon Li Che's arm, as if sensing the vibration of the Follow Heart Gold Iron Divine Staff…

The blurry monk's illusory apparition suddenly laughed, letting one clearly feel that kind of laughter.

"Qi Tian… long time no see."

A soft laugh, yet it carried little mirth.

"The Underworld… cause and effect are already settled; since Ji Mo Li was slain, the collection of blood souls will not disappear, only shift, from one person to another."

"You, by slaying Ji Mo Li, have accepted the cause; its effect therefore requires you to bear it…"

"All people will eventually crave power; even the strongest will one day crave power, for power knows no bounds, limitless and supreme!"

"Amitabha… the poor monk awaits you."

"Qi Tian, Qi Tian…"

"We will surely meet again soon."

And after the monk finished speaking with a smile, his gaze shifted again, landing on Xixi, who stood upon the city wall in the distance.

"Girl of the Prison Lotus……""You can't stay hidden much longer."

"The poor monk is also waiting for you."

Boom—

The two strands of golden fire light on the illusory monk's eyes finally slowly condensed.

Transforming into two divine patterns……

Golden Fire Cicada Pattern!

Beneath the cicada pattern, his eyes stared straight at Li Che.

"Amitabha, benefactor, remember the poor monk's dharma name."

"The poor monk……"

"Golden Cicada."

Looking at them one by one

The words fell.

The Buddha light within the six Corpse God Seals instantly vanished without a trace.

The illusory form of the monk Golden Cicada then completely disappeared.

But the six Corpse God Seals shot toward Li Che at high speed again, all rushing wildly into his Niwan Palace.

Li Che clenched his five fingers, wanting to press down the six Corpse God Seal marks once more.

However, the six Corpse God Seal marks seemed to turn into smoke, losing their true form, leaving only divine intent.

They struck the Niwan at the center of Li Che's brow.

Then……

They did not enter.

Because Li Che's golden bones rang throughout his body, as if a golden-light membrane coated his skin, radiating brilliant luster.

Martial Immortal Golden Body!

Flawless!

This Corpse God Seal mark was directly blocked outside by the Martial Immortal Golden Body.

This was rather awkward.

Li Che frowned slightly, his mind stirred, and the Heaven and Earth Chessboard descended with a boom, directly suppressing the six Corpse God Seals into the chessboard.

Mainly, within his Niwan Palace, the Six Desires Lu Xuan Sword Immortal Divine Fetus was throbbing, as if releasing a strong yearning.

Six Desires Corpse God Seal marks…… if the deathly and corpse energies were washed away, they would be very suitable for the Six Desires Lu Xuan Sword Immortal Divine Fetus's transformation and breakthrough.

Li Che had previously borrowed the Corpse God Seal marks to boost his strength many times.

So Li Che did not disperse these six Corpse God Seal marks representing the Six Desires.

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh……

Wind and waves buffeted, the ink rain drizzled.

This battle thus drew its curtain to a close.

The Underworld Yama stood rooted in place, his gaze icy and stern.

Upon the city wall, Xixi's face was filled with myriad excitement, thrilled beyond measure, almost wanting to leap and shout for joy!

She had actually just witnessed such a mighty and overbearing battle!

Such a level of battle made Xixi stare unblinking, her heart filled with longing.

However, Xixi did not see the moment the Underworld Yama's mask shattered to reveal his true face, but she did not care.

As for the monk's illusory form reflected and intertwined within the last six Corpse God Seals,

It filled Xixi's heart with boundless loathing.

That loathing seemed to spring from the depths of her soul.

"Older sister, do you loathe this bald donkey?"

Xixi tilted her head.

Then she clenched her tiny fists, puffed out her little belly, and said: "Rest assured, once Xixi the Great Emperor grows stronger, I'll help you beat him to death!"

"Heh."

It seemed a faint laugh echoed from deep within her mind.

Xixi's eyes lit up instantly!

Hey!

Older sister, you heard that, right!

……

……

Li Che paid no attention to Xixi's movements, as if she were playing by herself.

His five fingers spread open, and in an instant the air burst with a tremendous explosive sound.

Yet he saw that black strand of the indestructible Prison Lotus Heaven-Entwining Silk howling as it shot swiftly toward his direction.

Grasping the Heaven-Entwining Silk, a supreme evil surged forth from it in an instant, as if countless blood souls had scoured and baptized it, causing an evil transformation.

Li Che's brow beneath his mask furrowed slightly.

"Ji Moli…… to master this Heaven-Entwining Silk, he actually slaughtered an entire city?! Using a city's blood souls to forge this divine weapon?!"

Li Che's tone was grim; he truly deserved to die!

Through the Heaven-Entwining Silk, Li Che saw too many scenes—within them, a city being slaughtered, blood flowing like rivers, mountains of corpses and seas of blood……

Cruel to the extreme!

The Heavenly Silk Ribbon trembled slightly.

Li Che, seeing through the Heavenly Silk Ribbon, saw that this divine weapon, after falling into the Corpse God Sect's hands, naturally fell into Ji Mo Li's hands, and was then pressed into the blood pool for sacrificial refinement.

Even without seeing it himself, Li Che clearly felt the Heavenly Silk Ribbon's raw anger and grievance!

It had never felt this wronged!

Li Che exhaled, flicked a finger, and the Primordial Dragon-Elephant Flame ignited instantly; the purple Dao Tribulation Fire burned and twisted, beginning to scorch the Heavenly Silk Ribbon.

Within the mud pellet's inner vision, boom—boom—boom—

The Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart also began to tremble rapidly, rings of pure heart and divine nature merging in the purple flame, surging downward!

Begin scouring and cleansing the blood-soul power on the Heavenly Silk Ribbon.

hiss—hiss—hiss—hiss—

Countless black smoke billowed up, surging wildly within Ink City!

It seemed as if countless mournful wails and anguished roars echoed.

Countless spirits surged like a storm, relentlessly sweeping.

whoosh—

The wind stirred, as if blowing away the countless spirits' soft sobs.

The black on the Heavenly Silk Ribbon began to gradually fade, that relentless evil gradually weakening.

Finally, the Heavenly Silk Ribbon turned completely scarlet, fluttering like a crimson flood dragon with a splash!

Having washed away all the blood-soul deathly aura from the Heavenly Silk Ribbon, Li Che lightly exhaled, then seized it with five fingers, its slippery feel like a swimming fish, making Li Che unable to help but smile.

Immediately, he hurled it fiercely toward Xixi's direction.

Xixi stood on the city wall, eyes wide.

"Wow!"

She exclaimed in delighted joy.

Afterward, the golden fiery wheel of the prison lotus beneath her feet, the purple-flame serpent spear on her arm, and the divine gold bricks all automatically appeared, bursting forth with immense divinity……

Pulling the eternal prison lotus Heavenly Silk Ribbon!

Instantly, the eternal prison lotus Heavenly Silk Ribbon coiled around Xixi, as if automatically refined by her.

The Heavenly Silk Ribbon seemed to have gained sentience, like a lively little snake, transforming into a scarlet sash that wrapped around Xixi's waist, and, incidentally, tied a bow.

Xixi seemed to feel an itch, as if the Heavenly Silk Ribbon were scratching her.

Li Che glanced at Xixi on the city tower, and did not continue to reclaim the other three divine weapons that had become ownerless after Ji Mo Li's death.

Instead, with a thought, he swapped identities with the horse-faced guard beside Xixi.

Then, taking Xixi's hand, he left Ink City.

……

……

whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—

The rain stopped.

The heavens and earth were bleak, utter silence.

Luo Yun City, half the city lay in ruins, its walls nearly completely collapsed, no intact spot to be seen.

Under the howling wind, only a deathly silence remained inside and outside the city!

When Li Che brought Xixi out of Ink City and returned to the present world, because he had not captured the divine Ji Mo Li within Ink City, the heavens suddenly thundered terrifyingly, then blood rain rolled, that being the omen of a divine tribulation's fall.

The survivors of Luo Yun City each blankly lifted their heads.

Even though many among them were cultivators, they still didn't quite understand what the anomaly in the heavens signified.

After all, the fall of a divine tribulation grand cultivator is such a spectacle that most cultivators might never witness it in their lifetime.

And around Luo Yun City, perhaps sensing the battle's atmosphere, many cultivators from the Jiangnan Dao rushed over.

They were dumbstruck, hair standing on end……

Divine tribulation fallen!

There actually was a divine tribulation fallen……

Who fell?

The patriarch of the Jiangnan Dao's Haoran Academy?

Or perhaps it's the old ancestor of the Fang family, that ancient clan of Jiangnan Dao?

But some, upon seeing from afar the ground littered with the corpses of the black-armored guards, guessed… the fallen heavenly tribulation might be Ji Moli!

Xixi felt a moment of daze, then turned her head and saw Li Che holding her hand.

So, it's not a dream!

"Dad!"

Xixi hugged Li Che, pouting.

Li Che rubbed Xixi's head.

Suddenly, Xixi seemed to recall something, she abruptly opened her eyes, grabbed Li Che's hand, and sprinted toward the distance.

"Dad, hurry! Yun'e and Zhou Peng!"

Xixi's face was full of anxiety.

Whoosh—...

Wind swept through the dense forest, raising a wind neither big nor small.

Wind and rain mixed with snow particles drifted down lightly, bringing a hint of biting chill.

Two large pits exploded in the dense forest.

In the deep pit, smoke and dust billowed up, and there was a diffusing divinity…

Zhou Peng's entire body underwent a complete temple‑god metamorphosis, his head swollen and ears big, pig ears flapping; as he slowly opened his eyes, that single motion caused him excruciating pain.

His whole body was covered in fine cracks.

He didn't even have the strength to flick a finger.

The temple‑god power was completely exhausted; he knew that his life in this lifetime had essentially reached its end.

This reincarnation ultimately failed.

He let out a hoarse chuckle.

Suddenly thinking of something, his eyes rolled and he glanced sideways into the distance.

There, too, was a deep pit; because of its depression, Zhou Peng could not clearly see how Yun'e inside the pit actually was.

In Zhou Peng's eyes, a trace of pain and panic inevitably appeared.

Covered in cracks, he forced himself to move; the tearing‑like pain overwhelmed his entire body.

Fresh blood dripped down in patters.

He began crawling toward the other deep pit, leaving a trail of scarlet blood on the ground.

Rain slapped his face, making his eyes ever harder to keep open.

But Zhou Peng allowed the tearing‑like pain to continually erode his mind, seeking to destroy his consciousness.

He continued to climb relentlessly.

Finally, having climbed onto the rim of the pit, he gazed into the other pit.

He saw Yun'e lying just as still and silent in the pit, motionless, as if shrouded by pure moonlight.

On Zhou Peng's hideously ugly face, a rare tenderness appeared.

He gave a lopsided smile.

He simply rolled over, tumbling down from the pit's edge.

He was smeared with mud, filthy and disheveled.

At last.

He rolled to Yun'e's side, his whole body motionless, as if breathless.

But after a long while…

Zhou Peng slowly and tremblingly reached out his hand.

He gently grasped Yun'e's finger, which had lost all color.

A low voice, filled with satisfaction, echoed in the forest pit, then fell into utter silence.

"Hehe…"

"This lifetime…"

"I've caught you."

(End of chapter)